Eating habits and needs, of course, are different from one person to the next. For me, I'm not a breakfast person and usually start my shooting before noon. As overweight as I am, I can live off my fat for a few hours without any detriment (including the shakes). I'm usually not hungry in the morning and when shooting usually too focused to notice any hunger. I do, however, keep myself hydrated with at least a liter of Lipton Instant Iced Tea. I'm sure the sugar helps a little in providing some energy. Another aspect that keeps me from eating a big meal before hitting the range is I don't want to have to drop some reloads during a string, if you know what I mean.

If you find yours getting tapped out during a range session, try packing some of those Power Bar-type food/energy snacks.

I also like the hungry feeling I finally get after the range and dive into a restaurant of some type to enjoy a meal (after washing my hands, or course) and reflecting on the groups I was shooting.

DBOUNCE1,
If you really want to squeeze every last point out of a match, I can only speak for bullseye here, then yes, it does matter. Again,I refer you to the USAMU pistol marksmanship manual. Quantrill

Damn Recon7, you beat me to it.
Honestly, if you're training for a race or trying to build muscle, I can see how looking for answers on "what to eat" might be necessary. However, freakin Army manuals and the like do not need to be researched to find out what you need to eat when you're hungry.
BTW, caffeine is a GOOD thing for competition. It opens blood vessels stimulating increased blood flow, sharpens reflexes, and cause the eyes to dialate, which helps in target recognition and detection of movement. Athletes use them all the time, and so do competitive shooters.

caffeine is a GOOD thing for competition. It opens blood vessels stimulating increased blood flow, sharpens reflexes, and cause the eyes to dialate, which helps in target recognition and detection of movement. Athletes use them all the time, and so do competitive shooters.

Causes the heart to pump harder and faster. When you try to hold steady on a target, you can sometimes feel and see your arms jump or flinch each time the heart pumps blood out. That little jump or flinch can throw your shot off.
It's parrell to having a strong pulse. If you pay careful attention, you can see your cross hairs jump ever so slightly when the heart pumps blood out. Think what running around does to your blood flow when you stop. Sometimes you can feel like your heart wants to pound it's way out of your chest. Stimulants do the same thing only not as severe. If trying to hold a steady sight picture on a target is not critical, then I guess it wouldn't matter. If you want your body to be relaxed and as poised as possible, stay away from stimuilants.

TPAW, of course you sights jump "ever so slightly." They will NEVER be perfectly steady. In the majority of people, caffeine will not have that much of a physiological effect to move your round from the 10 ring to the 7.

[QUOTE]TPAW, of course you sights jump "ever so slightly." They will NEVER be perfectly steady.

I agree with you on that point. I also believe that stimulants can increase unsteadiness.

(Quote) "In the majority of people"

Where is that documented?

(Quote) "caffeine will not have that much of a physiological effect to move your round from the 10 ring to the 7."

Again, where is that documented? I would suspect that the amount of caffeine that a person absorbs into his system, would have a different effect in each individual, and I never spoke of any 10 or 7 ring.

When I shoot NRA smallbore competitions, weekly, what I eat has a great influence on my ability to hold a shot, or time it for that matter. I use a 24X scope at 50 ft. so your heartbeat is VERY noticeable. The worst thing I can eat is a high sodium food before shooting. Sodium constricts your vessels and arteries causing your heart to have to work a little harder and you will have a difference in blood pressure. You won't see this with an iron sighted gun, but the movement is still there. Try eating low sodium before you shoot, you will see a difference. The guys who shoot 36X say that it is even tougher to tame the pulse. It isn'e worse with the high power scope, the movement is just more visible. I ate 2 hotdogs once before I shot and shot 2 fliers. Girlfriends dad ate the same as me and shot his lowest score ever.

I definitely stay away from things that raise my blood pressure or pulse. Even still I see my pulse in the crosshairs. What I do to help is I place the crosshair so that when my heart hits a certain beat it is on the X, that is when I shoot. Works pretty well for me.

I have kind of a double whamy here.
I'm allergic to certain foods (Heartbeat hits 220+).
When your heart's cruisin', your breathing is so shallow and erratic, you won't be able to regulate it enough to shoot effectively. Food items have different effects on different people. For goodness sake, stay away from known stimulants or depressants the day of, and if known, the day before at a minimum. I'm sure you're aware of your heartbeat, pulse and BP during extreme focus, but get a heart monitor and play with it at the range. Calm and relaxed is best. Your control and focus is better when you're relaxed. You can't relax if you're chemically stimulated. You can't focus if you're chemically depressed. Without focus and fine motor control your shooting will be in the potty.

I also have blood sugar regulation problems. I go for 12+ hours without food=BAD. I get shakes randomly, depending on my activity level, carb count of last meal, stress, and mental focus. If I can focus for a minute, my shakes go away. The problem is, I can't focus when I'm low on sugar.
I suspect many people have sugar problems and they don't even know about them. What you eat will have more effect on you than most people. Eat regular meals, and stay healthy. Eat 2-3 hours before shooting. Bring a snack to the range. Wash hands before eating.

If you do drink a cup of coffee every morning, don't skip it to go shooting. Try to eat and drink what you normally would. I usually eat a fairly light breakfast and lunch, and if I chow down a Hardees thickburger on the way to the range, I usually feel awful. It actually takes quite a bit of energy to digest food, and that energy comes out of what your body has available.

I can work all night and then go shoot an IPSC or IDPA match in the morning, and be moderately hyped up on caffeine and (usually) shoot fine.

In the winter I often shoot in a rimfire 50 ft bullseye league, and prior to shooting I limit myself to a large cup of green tea and a light snack. I found that when shooting bulleye, too much caffeine made me too unsteady. And when digesting a big meal, all the blood is drawn to your digestive system, which can also be detrimental to your shooting.

I usually avoid eating a big meal before shooting, even in practice, unless I'm shooting outside in cold weather. Under those circumstances, the furnace needs a little fuel.

__________________You can only learn from experience if you pay attention!

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